Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- The market
- Tea sales continue long-term volume decline
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- Figure 1: UK retail value sales of tea, 2014-24
- Sales of ordinary tea bags continue to decline
- Green tea stagnates, fruit and herbal grows
- Sales of hot chocolate and malted drinks depressed
- Companies and brands
- Twinings and Yorkshire Tea make gains
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- Figure 2: Leading brands’ value shares in the tea market, 2018/19*
- Mars grows sales of chocolate-branded hot chocolate
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- Figure 3: Leading brands’ value shares in the hot chocolate market, 2018/19*
- Horlicks and Ovaltine dominate malted drinks
- Cold infusions tap interest in drinks with less sugar
- New and novel flavours are a continuing focus of NPD
- Brands tapping into growth of pods in coffee
- Functional benefits remain a big focus in tea
- The consumer
- Eight in 10 UK adults drink tea
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- Figure 4: Frequency of drinking tea, by tea type, May 2019
- Hot chocolate is more of a rare treat
- Tea buyers are becoming more experimental
- Free samples would encourage four in 10 to buy different tea
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- Figure 5: Prompts that would encourage people to buy a different tea type/brand, May 2019
- Price and promotions have biggest influence on choice
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- Figure 6: Most important factors influencing choice when buying one tea type/brand over another, May 2019
- Natural benefits valued more than added vitamins/minerals
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- Figure 7: Attributes worth paying more for when buying tea, May 2019
- Strong interest in tea offering health and wellness benefits
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- Figure 8: Interest in health/functional benefits provided by tea, May 2019
- More room to market teas for different times of day
- Interest in cold teas will help add sales for tea brands
- Pods offer a way of boosting hot chocolate and malt drinks
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- Figure 9: Attitudes towards tea and other hot drinks, May 2019
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Focus on health and wellbeing benefits will encourage trading up
- The facts
- The implications
- New formats and more variety will help hot drink brands grow sales
- The facts
- The implications
- Ethical considerations warrant continuing attention
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Tea sales continue long-term volume decline
- Flat value sales, but falling volumes predicted for tea
- Sales of hot chocolate and malted drinks depressed
- Sales of ordinary tea bags continue to decline
- Green tea stagnates, fruit and herbal grows
- Competition to tea from coffee and soft drinks
- Brexit uncertainties make price trends difficult to predict
- Strong interest in health and wellbeing
- Few younger people will limit growth in tea sales
- Tastes of growing number of over-55s likely to gradually change
Market Size and Forecast
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- Tea sales continue long-term volume decline
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- Figure 10: UK retail value and volume sales of tea, 2014-24
- Flat value sales, but falling volumes predicted
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- Figure 11: UK retail value sales of tea, 2014-24
- Sales of hot chocolate and malted drinks depressed
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- Figure 12: UK retail value and volume sales of hot chocolate and malted drinks, 2014-24
- Further decline in value and volume sales predicted
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- Figure 13: UK retail value sales of hot chocolate and malted drinks, 2013-23
- Forecast methodology
Market Segmentation
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- Sales of ordinary tea bags continue to decline
- Green tea stagnates, fruit and herbal in strong growth
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- Figure 14: UK retail value and volume sales of tea, by segment, 2016-18
- Further decline for hot chocolate and malted drinks
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- Figure 15: UK retail value and volume sales of hot chocolate and hot malted drinks, by segment, 2016-18
- Big increase in sales of RTD iced teas from a modest base
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- Figure 16: UK retail value and volume sales of iced tea, 2016-18
Market Drivers
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- Competition to tea from coffee and soft drinks
- Cold tea infusions offer healthy hydration
- Blurring of boundaries between tea and soft drinks
- Brexit uncertainties make price trends difficult to predict
- Strong interest in health and wellbeing
- Sustainable practices from growing to waste disposal warrant attention
- Few younger people will limit growth in tea sales
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- Figure 17: Trends in the age structure of the UK population, 2013-23
Companies and Brands – What You Need to Know
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- Twinings and Yorkshire Tea make gains
- Mars grows sales of chocolate-branded hot chocolate
- Horlicks and Ovaltine dominate malted drinks
- Cold infusions tap interest in drinks with less sugar
- New and novel flavours are a continuing focus of NPD
- Few examples of added flavours in hot chocolate
- Brands tapping into growth of pods in coffee
- Maximising the appeal of tea drinking throughout the day
- Functional benefits remain a big focus in tea
- New launches of vitamin teas in 2019
Market Share
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- Twinings and Yorkshire Tea make gains
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- Figure 18: Leading brands’ value sales and shares in the tea market, 2017/18 and 2018/19
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- Figure 19: Leading brands’ volume sales and shares in the tea market, 2017/18 and 2018/19
- Mars grows sales of its chocolate-branded hot chocolate
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- Figure 20: Leading brands’ value and volume sales and shares in the hot chocolate market, 2017/18 and 2018/19
- Horlicks and Ovaltine dominate malted drinks
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- Figure 21: Leading brands’ value and volume sales and shares in the malted drinks market, 2017/18 and 2018/19
Start-ups and Disruptors Case Study – OMGTea
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- Company Overview
- Website
- What is it?
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- Figure 22: OMGTea, June 2019
- Company mission statement
- Founder’s story
- Sources of funding and support
- Mintel analyst view
- Mintel Trends
- Why it could succeed
- Why it could fail
- The verdict
- Product information
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- Figure 23: Examples of OMGTea product listing, June 2019
- Figure 24: OMGTea product launches, 2014-19
- Purchase Intelligence
- OMGTea Iced Matcha Citrus
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- Figure 25: Perception of OMGTea Iced Matcha Citrus compared to similar Matcha tea launches, April 2018-June 2019
- OMGTea Organic Matcha
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- Figure 26: Perception of OMGTea Organic Matcha AAA Grade Single Serve 14-Pack compared to similar selected Matcha tea launches, April 2018-June 2019
- Product stockists
- Media profile
- Social media metrics
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- Figure 27: Social media metrics for OMGTea as of June 2019
Start-ups and Disruptors Case Study – TEA+
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- Company overview
- Website
- What is it?
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- Figure 28: Example of Tea+ product, February 2019
- Founded:
- Company mission statement:
- Founder’s Story:
- Sources of funding and support
- Mintel analyst view
- Mintel Trends
- Why it could succeed
- Why it could fail
- The verdict
- Product information
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- Figure 29: Selected examples of Tea+ products, May 2019
- Figure 30: Samples of Tea+ launches, November 2018
- Purchase Intelligence
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- Figure 31: Perception map of attribute performance of Tea+ in comparison to 41 other herbal and fruit tea bags, April 2018-May 2019
- Product stockists
- Media profile
- Social media metrics
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- Figure 32: Social media metrics for Tea+ as of May 2019
Launch Activity and Innovation
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- More products launch for making cold tea
- Cold infusions tap interest in drinks with less sugar
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- Figure 33: Examples of cold tea infusions launches, 2018/19
- Cold tea infusions beat other teas on instant reaction
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- Figure 34: Perception map of attribute performance of cold tea infusions in comparison to other tea launches in the UK tea market, April 2018-June 2019
- Twinings has the two most appealing cold tea infusions
- New and novel flavours are a continuing focus of NPD
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- Figure 35: Examples of seasonal launches in tea, 2018/19
- Few examples of added flavours in hot chocolate
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- Figure 36: Examples of added flavours and dark chocolate in new launches of hot chocolate, 2018/19
- Turmeric and other spices are a theme in hot drinks launches
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- Figure 37: Examples of launches in malted and other beverages with turmeric and other spices, 2018/19
- Brands tapping into growth of pods in coffee
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- Figure 38: Examples of new pod launches in hot chocolate, 2018/19
- Maximising the appeal of tea drinking throughout the day
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- Figure 39: Examples new tea launches for different times of the day, 2018/19
- Variety packs continue to target those drinking a repertoire of teas
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- Figure 40: Examples of new tea launches offering variety packs, 2018/19
- Functional benefits remain a big focus in tea
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- Figure 41: New product launches in the UK tea market, by claim category, 2014-19
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- Figure 42: Examples of new tea launches assigned stress and sleep functional claim and focused on mood and the senses, 2018/19
- New launches of vitamin teas in 2019
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- Figure 43: Examples of new tea launches making vitamin claims, 2018/19
Advertising and Marketing Activity
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- Steep decline in main media advertising spending
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- Figure 44: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on tea and other hot drinks, 2015-19
- Taylors of Harrogate the biggest advertiser
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- Figure 45: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on tea and other hot drinks, by advertiser, 2015-19
- Twinings appoints M&C Saatchi
- PG Tips launches ‘Cuppas Taste Better Together’ campaign
- Horlicks pushes relaxation and nutrition message
- Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Eight in 10 UK adults drink tea
- Drinking of speciality, green and herbal/fruit shows younger bias
- Hot chocolate is more of a rare treat
- Tea buyers are becoming more experimental
- Free samples would encourage four in 10 to buy different tea
- Natural benefits valued more than added vitamins/minerals
- Strong interest in tea offering health and wellness benefits
- More room to market teas for different times of day
- Interest in cold teas will help add sales for tea brands
- Pods offer a way of boosting hot chocolate and malt drinks
Drinking Habits – Tea and Other Hot Drinks
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- Eight in 10 UK adults drink tea
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- Figure 46: Frequency of drinking tea, by tea type, May 2019
- Speciality, green and fruit/herbal teas drinkers are younger and more affluent
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- Figure 47: Usage of speciality, green or fruit/herbal teas, by age, May 2019
- Young people drink a wider range of teas
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- Figure 48: Number of different types of tea drunk in the last month, May 2019
- Hot chocolate is more of a rare treat
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- Figure 49: Frequency of drinking hot chocolate and malted drinks, May 2019
Factors Influencing Choice of Tea
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- Tea buyers are becoming more experimental
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- Figure 50: Sticking to one tea product vs buying different tea products, May 2019
- Free samples would encourage four in 10 to buy different tea
- Free samples have more sway with women, younger age groups are most open to trial
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- Figure 51: Prompts that would encourage people to buy a different tea type/brand, May 2019
- Price and promotions have biggest influence on choice
- Strong flavour and health benefits have notable sway
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- Figure 52: Most important factors influencing choice when buying one tea type/brand over another, May 2019
Attributes Worth Paying More for When Buying Tea
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- Natural benefits valued more than added vitamins/minerals
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- Figure 53: Attributes worth paying more for when buying tea, May 2019
- A third of buyers are willing to pay more for plastic-free tea bags
- Tea brands also need to tap wider ethical concerns, with sustainable farming first
Interest in Functional Benefits in Tea
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- Strong interest in teas offering health and wellness benefits
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- Figure 54: Interest in health/functional benefits provided by tea, May 2019
- Nearly three in 10 interested in de-stressing/calming benefits
- Digestive health benefits interest more than a quarter of tea drinkers
Attitudes towards Tea and Other Hot Drinks
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- More room to market teas for different times of day
- Gifting opportunities
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- Figure 55: Attitudes towards tea and other hot drinks, May 2019
- Interest in cold teas will help add sales for tea brands
- Cold tea infusions tap interest in healthier hydration
- Cold-brew tea currently niche but offers different flavour profiles
- Innovation is needed in hot chocolate and malted drinks
- More extra dark chocolate and added flavours are in demand
- Malted drinks need to push their source of nutrition credentials to stake a claim for starting the day
- Pods offer a way of boosting hot chocolate and malt drinks
Usage of RTD Cold Tea
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- A fifth of people drink RTD cold teas
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- Figure 56: Drinking of ready-to-drink cold tea in the last month, May 2019
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
Appendix – Market Size and Forecast
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- Figure 57: UK retail volume sales of tea, 2014-24
- Figure 58: Best- and worst-case forecast of total UK retail value sales of tea, 2019-24
- Figure 59: Best- and worst-case forecast of total UK retail volume sales of tea, 2019-24
- Figure 60: UK retail volume sales of hot chocolate and malted drinks, 2014-24
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- Figure 61: Best- and worst-case forecast of total UK retail value sales of hot chocolate and malted drinks, 2019-24
- Figure 62: Best- and worst-case forecast of total UK retail volume sales of hot chocolate and malted drinks, 2019-24
- Forecast methodology
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Appendix – Market Share
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- Figure 63: Leading manufacturers’ value and volume sales and shares in the tea market, 2017/18 and 2018/19
- Figure 64: Leading manufacturers’ value and volume sales and shares in the hot chocolate market, 2017/18 and 2018/19
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- Figure 65: Leading manufacturers’ value and volume sales and shares in the malted drinks market, 2017/18 and 2018/19
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Appendix – Launch Activity and Innovation
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- Figure 66: New product launches in the UK tea market, by claim (sorted by 2018), 2014-19
- Figure 67: New product launches in the UK tea market, by company (top 20 sorted by 2018), 2014-19
- Figure 68: New product launches in the UK tea market, by branded and private label, 2014-19
- Figure 69: New product launches in the UK malted and other hot beverages market, by branded and private label, 2014-19
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- Figure 70: New product launches in the UK malted and other hot beverages market, by company (top 10 sorted by 2018), 2014-19
- Figure 71: New product launches in the UK malted and other hot beverages market, by claim (top 20 sorted by 2018), 2014-19
- Figure 72: New product launches in the UK malted and other hot beverages market, by claim category, 2014-19
- Figure 73: Attribute performance of cold tea infusions in comparison to other tea in the UK tea market, April 2018-June 2019
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